TWELVE.

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In my year and a half of being in the Glade, I never once figured I would be teaming up with Gally for anything ever. But, there I was, making a plan with him to stop a rascal of a kid from possibly destroying the whole Glade and maybe 'accidentally' killing someone along the way.

Okay, so that was a bit of an exaggeration. We still desperately needed to get Alex out and fast.

There were obstacles- several obstacles, actually. One was that we had little to no evidence that all of the things Alex had done were on purpose. Another was that Minho took him into the Maze every day, meaning he was barely around for Gally and I to spy on him.

So more days passed. And more. They were boring, long, and filled only with the satisfaction of finally being able to draw on my wall with the supplies Minho had asked for. I corrected Maps that didn't need correcting, erasing lines only to draw them in again, trying to get rid of the stone stuck between my ribs.

With no running in the Maze, no Minho, and everyone else busy, there was nothing for me to do. Running used to be cathartic to me, easing my mind with every slap of my sneakers against the stone floor. It was always cold in there, always quiet, and a place where I could run all of my thoughts away. Now I could never do that again.

That was my motivation. I didn't have to go in the Maze to run- I could do it in the Glade. I got up from my chair in the Map Room and walked unsteadily until I reached the South Wall. I leaned against it for a second to regain my breath before sliding my jacket off and tying it around my waist, leaving me only in my gray quarter-sleeve.

The first lap, I was okay. There was a slight pain in my leg, but it was just bearable enough for me to keep walking. I never strayed far from the wall except to cut around the forest as I paced myself. The second lap caused the pain to double. Halfway through, it tripled. Soon I was gritting my teeth and blinking tears away, trying to push through the lap that should have been no trouble at all. I used to be the fastest, the one who could run the farthest.

"Nadia, stop!"

I paused, turned to see all of the Raisers staring at me, and promptly collapsed against the wall. Garret, who had been the one to call me out, ran toward me and bent down so he was at my level. His gray eyes were filled with concern as he examined the way I clutched my leg and breathed heavily through my clenched jaw. His hairline was dotted with sweat, turning his blond hair a light brown.

"What were you thinking?" he demands, but gently enough to show he isn't upset. "You could ruin your leg forever, doing that."

I didn't have the energy to respond. My face was flushed red from the strain I had put on myself, cheeks feeling puffy and hot as I struggled to steady my breathing. The back of my neck and my underarms were damp from sweat. A stabbing, intense pain was shooting from my leg, making me whimper through labored pants.

Garret wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me up onto my feet. He motioned to his colleagues that he'd be back, made sure I was securely supported, and set off toward the Homestead. Every step made me grunt and squeeze my eyes shut at the agony. Garret noticed this and began singing a soft, soothing song that made my stiff muscles relax from his voice near my ear.

"I need - a shower," I gasped through heavy breaths. My chest felt like it was on fire even though those two laps would have been effortless to complete before the accident, the rock wedging itself further between my ribs and digging deeper than before.

Garret nodded and changed direction so we were now walking toward the shower rooms near the back of the Homestead. He continued his song, muscles straining as he tried to relieve as much pressure on my bad leg as he could. I could tell it was tough for him because he wasn't the strongest of all the Gladers. My heart warmed at his kindness.

"Here you go," he said once we reached the door of the only room with female shower products. "Do you need anything? Want me to stay out here in case you fall or something? Do I need to call Minho in from the Maze?"

I felt my face getting red again, and not from the exercise. "No, Minho's fine where he is. And, if you don't mind, could you stay here? It's possible I could fall. But I don't want you to get in trouble with Clark." I hastily added at the end. Old habits die hard.

"No, it's fine," Garret chuckled with a million watt smile of his perfectly straight teeth. "Don't worry about it."

I managed a small grin and stepped inside, closing the door of the dark room with a sigh.

Garret stayed true to his word the entire twenty minutes I was in the shower. I had never enjoyed them - mostly because the pipes often leaked and the water changed randomly from hot to lukewarm - but something about them made me want to never leave.

The bathroom I was in was reserved for me only, mostly because I needed my own shower products and didn't want a mix up with any boys. The last thing I needed was for someone else to use the razor that was meant for my legs and underarms.

After drying off with a ratty towel and putting on my clothes, I went back up to my room with Garret spotting me the whole way. He left shortly after depositing me in the hallway, once I had assured him I would be fine on my own about seven times.

I touched the knob on my door and froze when a cough came from a room down the hall. My head slowly turned to look at the Med-jack's room, where Newt was still recovering (a.k.a where he refused to come out of). I hadn't tried talking to him since he threw the book at Alby, fearing he would try to harm me. I had never thought I would ever be afraid of the blond boy with the kind smile, but there I was, debating on whether or not to go inside.

I ignored the pain as I tip-toed toward the door on the opposite end of the hallway and two spaces down. The floorboards creaked from my heavy brace despite my efforts, and I winced when the coughing in the room fell silent. I didn't dare move during the beat of silence.

"Who's there?" Newt's voice demanded from inside. "Alby, is that you?"

"Sorry to disappoint, but it's Nadia," I responded before I could stop myself. My hand slapped over my mouth so hard it stung. That was something I would have replied with before he tried to kill himself. There was no telling how he'd react now.

But he only said, "Come in," which made me nearly blanch in surprise. He wouldn't even talk to Alby, his best friend of all best friends. Why would he want to talk to me?

Despite my edge of fear, I twisted the knob and slowly pushed the door open. It was so dark in the room that I had to squint to make out the silhouette of Newt lying in the bed. The curtains were drawn firmly over the window so no light could escape between the dark green fabric, the room cold.

I closed the door and walked as steadily as I could toward the bed. Once I got closer, I could see his rumpled hair and papery thin skin, but none of his other features. It was almost scary to see him that way.

"Thank you," said Newt in a croaky voice.

That caught me off-guard. "For what?"

"For responding like that," he replied as if it were obvious. "For acting normal."

I didn't want to say, "It was an accident," so I settled with, "Oh."

I nearly hit myself again.

"Everyone is treating me like I'm some rabid monster or an injured dog," Newt huffed. "I'm sick of it. It's not my fault I have this constant nagging in my head that's trying to convince me you all don't care about me, that I'm worthless, that I should've tried harder to die." His words hit me as if someone had stuck a glass shard below my ribs, causing me to inhale sharply. He didn't notice. "Everyone approaches with caution as if I'll bite their heads off. But you acted normal."

I swallowed. "Newt, you're not worthless."

He chuckled dryly, making the shard twist inside of me. "It's hard to convince yourself you're not when your own brain tells you that you are every waking second."

I didn't know how to respond. The silence was causing every nerve to dance nervously inside of me, making me antsy and choked up. I grabbed a chair and sat down. Relieving the pressure on my leg almost caused me to sigh.

I chose my next words carefully.

"When I got stuck in the Door, I thought I was going to die." It was difficult to say out loud; the words almost didn't come out. "But I woke up, alive and with a lifelong injury I never wanted. It has taken running from me, my daily activities from me, a chunk of my life and twisted it around. I'm not going to sugarcoat it- it sucks. But you know what?" Newt's head turned toward me, listening intently. "Something good came out of it. I'm closer with Minho - closer with everyone, actually - and I found a new pastime that's almost as important to me as running was. And yeah, people treated me like glass and I hated it, but it's because they care, Newt. They care and they don't want you to hurt yourself even more.

"Listen, it's going to be tough. It's going to be painful and going to make you wish you had died. I've felt that before. But maybe you lived for a reason. You have another purpose. You, me, and Theo? We're one ragtag bunch of misfits that weren't meant to die just yet. There's a reason I'm talking to you right now, a reason you're listening, and a reason Theo is recovering in Nick's room. We were meant to live."

Newt blinked at me. For a long time, he stayed silent and looked me straight in the eye. The outline of him was barely visible still. His eyes were shiny in the darkness.

"I was meant to live," he finally said slowly as if he was testing out the words. "That's nice to think about."

-:-

Minho burst into my room while I was drawing on my wall, making my scream instinctively and drop my chalk so it broke in half. He wasted no time in darting over as quickly as he could and wrapping his strong arms around me. I was encased in the scent of him in seconds, keeping my arms outstretched in surprised before hugging him back. For what reason, I didn't know.

"Garret told me as soon as I came back," he breathed, chest heaving against my own. His warm breath tickled my neck and sent shivers down my back. "That was a stupid move. Really stupid. I may never forgive you."

"Minho, I'm okay now," I told him, though that was only part of the truth. I was better than before. Still in pain, but better than before.

"You better be," Minho said, then pressed his lips to my cheek.

My eyes grew to the size of small planets at the feeling of his chapped lips against my skin. They lingered for what seemed like an eternity before he hugged me tightly again, not seeming to notice my stunned reaction. I felt like every cell in my body had frozen. My heart increased its beating to twice its normal rate.

I closed my eyes and let him hold me, relishing in the scent of grass and sweat that I didn't care about. The only thing that was registering was the sensation of his arms around me. "I am."

We had just released one another when a shriek came from down the hall. "¡Ay, Díos mio!"

Theo. Minho raced for the door with me in tow, hobbling along to keep up with his speed. I skidded to a stop in front of Nick's open door. Inside, Theo was standing, holding onto Garret's shoulders for support. His mouth was open in awe and tears blurred his brown eyes. Garret had a huge smile on his face as well, along with Nick and Clint, who stood out of their way.

"How're ya feeling, bud?" Clint questioned the marveled boy.

Theo's head snapped up with a heartwarming smile full of gratitude. "I can stand."

He slowly let go of Garret and turned to Clint, focusing immensely hard on taking small steps. His face contorted in pain with every shuffled movement, but he was walking, and that seemed to be enough for him. Clint outstretched his arms just as Theo practically fell into them and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you."

Clint patted his back with a grin. "You're welcome, bud." His blue eyes flickered to where I stood in the doorway with Minho. "Hey, Nad. Heard you got Newt to talk today."

Nick looked impressed and rose his eyebrows in surprise. "Seriously? Even Alby hasn't been able to speak with him. What did you do?"

"Treated him like a normal human being." I shrugged. "He wants us to speak to him like we usually would, not like he could attack us. I think he's offended when people are afraid of him. It makes him afraid. Talk to him normally and he should want to go outside soon."

Nick nodded in understanding with a slightly guilty expression on his chiseled. "I'll spread the word."

Theo had let go of Clint and was beaming at me. He lifted his shirt, motioning to a silver contraption beneath his waistline that was somehow helping him stand. "Look, we're both misfits."

I didn't know what it was - the smile on Theo's face or the fact he had unintentionally quoted me - but something filled me with hope. We would figure this whole thing out, one hobbled step at a time. Alex wouldn't stop us anymore.

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hey guys! this is another filler-ish chapter because of the things that happen in-between the main plot of alex, but i hope it was enjoyable nonetheless.

minho kissed nadia's cheek. ninho is happening soon. GET READY.

-kristyn